The Game
by txxxa
Summary: It was a few months shy of my sixteenth birthday when my life came to a screeching halt. I should back up. Tell you from the beginning. Maybe you'll understand. And maybe you'll forgive me.
It was a few months shy of my sixteenth birthday when my life came to a screeching halt.

I should back up. Tell you from the beginning. Maybe you'll understand.

And maybe you'll forgive me.

I watched the pool ripple at my touch as I dipped my pointer finger into the water, swirling in circular motions, watching how mini whirlpools formed with my movements, only to fade when I retracted my finger back to the cement edge of the pool I had been gripping in my moment of idle peacefulness.

A shrill voice shattered my daydream.

"Sakura!" My mother called, rushing out to push open the glass door that led to our backyard. I stood at her voice and turned, my straightened blonde hair swishing at my hips with my movements. My little sister, Nora, followed after her, clinging to my mother's leg. She had blonde hair like mine, adorned in blue raiment that matched her sequined headband and her bright, wide eyes. She was four.

Oh, that's right. My name isn't Tessa. That part comes later, so stay tuned.

"What?" I responded, placing one of my hands on my hip, adjusting my weight to my side. Me and my mother look nothing alike. She's a short, Japanese woman with a dark, angled bob, dainty lips, and a sweet-looking appearance, It was clear that I take after my father.

"Lucas is here for you," She informed me, prompting me to let out a sigh of relief. I brushed past her, ruffling Nora's hair before muttering a small thank you and padded my way over to the living room, past the many, many paintings dotting the spacious hallway, all done by my mother herself.

And there he stood in all his glory. Lucas was my boyfriend. He was cute, handsome, even- with a styled black haircut with warm brown eyes, a sly smirk, and a playful personality to boot, how could anyone resist?

"Hey babe," Lucas stepped towards me, carrying a cardboard box. "This was on your doorstep addressed for you. It's from-" He glanced down at the white label to relay the sender to me. Before he could say anything else, I recognized the game logo on the side of the box and snatched it away. Needless to say, he didn't know I was into video games, and honestly, I wasn't. I'm not. I was just curious. A game that was almost impossible to separate from reality, well...

"It's nothing." I said too quickly, setting the box down on the coffee table behind me. Lucas wrapped his hands around my waist and squeezed me into a hug.

"Got a secret to hide?" He asked teasingly, whispering into my ear. There was something about his tone that made my stomach twist uncomfortably. I turned to face him, taking both of his hands in my own.

"No, idiot. It's just something I ordered online." I answered, standing on my tiptoes to place a quick kiss on his lips, briefly distracting him from the subject. I hesitated from moving for a second too long before breaking it off.

I caught a whiff of an unfamiliar perfume lingering on his t-shirt. I pushed him away gently, placing the palm of my hand on his chest. I allowed myself to be briefly distracted by my chipped coral nail polish, rather disinterested in the conversation. "Listen. I'm glad you came by, but I have to get to karate practice in an hour." I heard myself say. (Side note: I was forced to take karate lessons by my father. This turned out to be rather useful.)

Lucas rolled his eyes jokingly, sucking in his cheeks as he averted his gaze back to my features. "Sure, princess. Don't break a nail." He chuckled at his joke, reaching into his pocket to fish for his car keys. Lucas pulled them from his shorts and tossed them in the air, catching them easily. "I'll see you at school."

I gave him a toothless smile, giving him one last parting hug before he left the house. I wanted to rip open that package and play that shit as soon as possible. Unfortunately for me, I had karate in precisely fifty-four minutes. Gag.

Looking back, I wish Lucas had urged me to skip my lessons and go for a drive, or maybe to see a movie, or just /anything/ that would have prevented my eventual login not too long after we parted. I could've gone on with my life, never knowing what would've happened if I had.

(Ladies and gentlemen, choices can't be undone. Wishful thinking is useless. Remember that.)

I turned back towards the coffee table and eyed the package like a predator and pounced, grabbing it swiftly, wrapping two protective arms around my prey and scampered off to my room. I swore to myself that I was just going to log in for like, a second, and then log off in time to rush off to karate.

After I set the box on my bed, scissors in hand, I stabbed the thick cardboard with the sharp end of my scissors and ripped an opening on the top of the box. From the singular gash in the box, I tore open the box and pulled out the virtual reality headpiece, tossing the instructions behind me. They fluttered midair for a few moments before slowly drifting down to my carpeted floor.

With gentle hands, I plugged in the headpiece and slipped it over my head. It fit smugly over my hair. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the tinted glass that obstructed my vision. Wide cerulean eyes, the color of the sea, full of determination and energy. They were softer than they are now.

Slowly, I opened my mouth to speak. "Log in." I muttered, barely above a whisper. I faded from reality, my active consciousness seeping into the game.

The login screen appeared before me. My body didn't exist, only the floating words surrounded by an endless plane of white. I would've bit my lip if I had them.

I had made an account a few weeks ago in preparation for the game, though there was just one tiny, minor setback: I had used a fake name. It was one of those spur of the moment things, perhaps to protect my classmates from finding out about my new pastime, or just for the hell of it- I couldn't tell you.

Can you guess what name I chose? If you guessed Tessa, ding ding ding. You're correct!

Too lazy to remake an account, I jumped at the opportunity of some sort of secret identity. I logged in with my credentials. Afterwards, it took me to the avatar creation screen.

A fun fact for you all: Before we all were reverted to our real, original appearances, I had short purple hair. No, really. I thought it made me look different enough so that nobody could ever recognize me in real life.

Needless to say, I never made it to karate that night.

I could recount for you in excruciating detail my first few weeks in game, but many of us shared the same experiences after the announcement that we wouldn't be able to log out, perhaps ever. Anger. Fear. Resentment. A perfect cocktail of emotions that worked to create me. That worked to create Blake.

Things didn't start heating up until I met Zac. Nothing that happened to me in-game mattered before my fateful encounter with him. He was the beginning.


End file.
